Duo UK celebrates MBO 4 year anniversary

Duo UK are celebrating four years since it emerged from a successful Management Buy Out by announcing a record investment in staff training and development in addition to a 77% increase in turnover over the period.

Following the buyout in 2009, Duo has revolutionised the way it does business. This year Duo has committed to a £96,000 training, which follows a landmark £1.1m invested in new machinery and software announced earlier in the summer. Prioritising the firm’s 120 employees is integral to the business strategy, which has seen Duo more than double the budget allocated to training over the past two years alone.

As a result, Duo continues to attract and retain employees, with funds contributing towards offering an industry leading apprenticeship scheme, providing financial support for staff to pursue degree level qualifications and opportunities for on-site training. Helping to address the skills gap that is often recognised to be a challenge within the manufacturing arena, Duo is also better positioning itself to fully support its staff in their career ambitions with design and development of its own certified courses underway.

Following the retirement of one of the company’s founding members in 2009, the buyout saw Duo UK create its own brand identity and change its business strategy from supplying the merchant trade to work predominantly with customers direct to offer packaging products and expert consultancy services. Now, with a roster of high profile clients including John Lewis, Tesco and ASOS under its belt, Duo has become firmly established as one of the UK’s most the trusted packaging experts.

Carving a specialism as a supplier to the ecommerce sector, in just four years Duo’s change in direction has seen the firm defy the recession to achieve a 77% growth in turnover to £24million. Duo UK managing director and founder of the business, David Brimelow, said: “Duo has come a long way over the past four years, and we are incredibly grateful to our team for their passion and support whilst we went through a period of huge change. Their expertise has helped Duo get to where it is today and nurturing talent through effective training and staff development is something that we are committed to delivering on an ongoing basis. As we look to the future as a business, creating a model factory environment, delivering exceptional customer service and excellent products is our ultimate goal, and we are proud to be working towards that goal as a team each and every day.”